By CLARE FARNSWORTH, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Updated 10:00 pm, Saturday, January 14, 2006

Eight minutes into the biggest game of the Seahawks’ best season, there was Shaun Alexander face down on the turf, his mind cloudier than the skies that poured rain on Qwest Field all afternoon.

How could the Seahawks possibly compensate for losing their All Pro running back, who was voted the NFL’s most valuable player after scoring a league-record 28 touchdowns and rushing for a league-best 1,880 yards during the regular season?

It was a concussion that could have prompted the unthinkable: The Seahawks losing their divisional playoff game to the Washington Redskins on Saturday.

“For a second, you’re like, ‘Damn’,” All Pro left guard Steve Hutchinson said after the Seahawks had outlasted the Redskins 20-10 to advanced to next week’s NFC Championship game against the winner of Sunday’s Chicago-Carolina matchup.

Rather than be damned, the Seahawks refused to concede their season was over. Instead, they continued what has been a season-long trend.

It started even before the regular season did: Whenever a starter was injured, someone was there to not only step in, but step up.

Hasselbeck passed for one touchdown – to Jackson – and ran for another. Jackson caught nine passes for 143 yards. Morris carried the ball 18 times – after getting 71 in 16 regular-season games. Strong broke the longest run of his 13-year career when it was most needed – on a third-and-6 play in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve learned a great deal about losing guys this year,” Hasselbeck said.

Lesson One: Don’t give up, no matter how valuable the player that has been lost.

“Mo stepped up against a tough defense and got some tough yards for us,” center Robbie Tobeck said.

Morris sensed it was his turn to be the super-sub as soon as he saw Alexander go down.

“From the sideline, the way Shaun got hit by those two guys, I kind of figured that was a tough one,” Morris said. “I’ve had a concussion before and I know how they are.”

The Redskins didn’t give Alexander a lot of respect, before or after he was injured.

“Everybody talks about Shaun Alexander like he’s Superman,” Redskins linebacker Marcus Washington said. “But I don’t know. The MVP came out there today and when the Riddles got to poppin’, he went to the sideline to get an extra week or whatever.”

Alexander received a concussion on a second-and-6 carry on the Seahawks’ fourth possession of the game. He ducked under linebacker LaVar Arrington, but ended up with three Redskins on top of him. After being down for several minutes, a woozy Alexander was helped to the sideline.

Teammates said Alexander was “out of it,” which forced him to sit out the rest of the game. Alexander did not talk to reporters after the game.

But after a recovery period, Alexander remained a part of this historic game. He was the first one to greet Hasselbeck on the sideline after the Seahawks quarterback had scored on a 6-yard run in the third quarter. As Strong broke his long run on the fourth quarter drive that allowed the Seahawks to burn some clock and extend their lead with a field goal, Alexander leaped from the sideline, did a little dance and waved his arms.

Because his teammates were there to fill the void created by his loss, Alexander’s season is not over. He is expected to be ready next Sunday, when the Seahawks host a conference championship for the first time in their 30-year history – and play in one for the first time since after the 1983 season.

“You sigh for a minute,” Hutchinson said of seeing Alexander and all his touchdowns and yards sprawled on the field. “But then you’ve got to take a breath and say, ‘Hey, it’s early in the game. We’ve to perform. We’ve got to win this game.’.”